The Year In Review From Ed…

It was a chaotic start to 2024 training horses out of two separate yards, we had 22 two-year-olds based at another yard near low the moor whilst we were building our new 20 horse barn just below our ménage. The barn was built within three months and it has worked seamlessly, I am truly delighted with the way it has slotted into Thorngill without ruining the view too much! The amount of winners we have trained out of it, has been nothing short of remarkable, 23 to be precise, to say that it works well would be an understatement. The rest of the yard hasn’t been too bad either, all of the horses have played a part in what has been the most successful year we have had since I took over the license four years ago!

The initial targets that I set myself  (but of course not letting anyone know these targets) in December was 50 winners and one million pounds in prize money, and it is safe to say we have smashed that with two months of the year to go. I couldn’t be prouder of the horses and the team we have here who have all worked tirelessly in 2024 to achieve these results. I really can’t thank the horses, the owners and the team enough as each individual has contributed to achieving these results. It has given me great satisfaction to be able to achieve these targets in such a short space of time training horses and it is a great feather in the teams cap. To hit the one million pound barrier in my fourth year is something I am hugely proud of; only 25 stables in the country have achieved this.

Minstrel Knight smashing the million pound target for the team.

The start to this year was extremely difficult, not only because of two yards and a new barn being built but because of the weather we endured over the winter months, the horses took a long time to come to themselves, they didn’t look right at the end of February which concerned me with the turf season only around the corner. We had a  slightly slow beginning but our staff and our vet Dom worked tirelessly to find the route of this issue and we managed to get ahead of the curve just before the season.

Putting the wet start behind us we set off in earnest to strive for the targets and being completely honest I thought it was going to be a struggle especially as we had such a successful season in ’23. We managed to put seven winners on the board and we came into the Spring months with great momentum and had another seven winners in the month of May. This didn’t leave any breathing space before June and Royal Ascot fast approaching, I had more confidence with a solid May behind us and I could look forward to the Royal meeting. Last year we went with a bigger team of horses which saw me having my first ever runners at Royal Ascot as a trainer. I wanted to send a smaller team of horses this year as I had a reality check last year after having sent my best horses down and came back with one placing. This year we went with three horses and I was exceedingly proud (albeit a little bit apprehensive) heading there with three live contenders. Regional ran a huge race to finish a very close second in the Gr.1 on the opening day of the meeting and Elim was flying the flag for the girls to pick up a placing and prize money and it was all up to Mickley on the Thursday. I was very calm when Thursday morning came around and it was in the lap of the God’s as to what the result would be. The race Mickley was in, The Britanna Stakes is a cavalry charge with 30 runners and it really is luck of the draw, quite literally. We were drawn well and the rest was up Mickley & Callum. To see Mickley win how he did was a genuine surprise and I couldn’t believe it, there were a lot of emotions and ones I could not describe. I am hugely grateful to have come away from the meeting with my horses sound, well and very pleased with themselves as well as all of them picking up prize money and a Royal Ascot win!

After Royal Ascot it was back to reality with runners around the country in the following weeks. It is very easy to sit back and look back at what we had achieved but I knew I had my targets which I still wanted to hit and with 22 winners by the end of June I still had to keep my finger on the pulse. I needn’t have worried and on reflection we have had a fantastic rest of the season with what I would say has been a steady flow of winners, with on average eight winners a month. We have had different horses adding to this tally as well as some who have had a great season in their own right and adding three to four wins each to their name and the tally!

With the season coming to a close in the winter months and my personal target within touching distance I sent out 11 runners around the country  in one day in the hope for a few winners to add to the tally and target. It was a slow start to the day and I thought we weren’t going to reach the target of 50 winners on that day which in all honesty I felt deflated by. I should have had more faith in the horses I had sent out as we had a double on the day and our last runner of the day not only won to make the magical number of 50 but also won very impressively and broke the two-year-old track record. At this moment I felt a huge amount of achievement and great pride in the team and the horses that have made this possible, those around me know I am always looking for the next target.

The next target was the £1,000,000 mark to hit and we only had to wait a week to smash this target and to achieve this at York, a local track which is also one of my favioute tracks, although very hard to win at as I have tried many a time over the past four years of training! To achieve these two targets with the number of runners we have had really is a huge achievement for the whole team and we really can’t thank our owners, team and of course our superstars the horses for making this possible.

With these targets achieved there is still no time to be resting on our laurels and with two months left of the season it is so important to keep our heads down and focused on what we are doing. This game waits for no one!

First lot walking to the gallops

With the fantastic winners we have had it makes for a very healthy strike rate, and those who know me very well know I am bit of a nerd when it comes to stats! As I write this newsletter we have a strike rate of 20% which is currently the second highest in the UK, and we have also had 54 seconds, which is a huge amount and I will dream of converting those into winners to add to the board for next season when we will start from zero again!

We couldn’t have achieved these results without our main stable jockey Callum Rodriguez who has been a vital cog in the system, he rides out weekly at the yard which I feel is a huge benefit to the horses as he gets to know them before being on a racetrack. We have a 23% strike rate for trainer and jockey from the past two seasons of working with each other which is the second highest strike rate of trainer and jockey to none other than John Gosden and Frankie Dettori in the past five years!

We couldn’t have achieved these results without all of our owners support and allowing me to do what I love, training and placing the horses in the correct races as well as my team who work tirelessly around the clock to have the horses in their top possible form. When I talk about our team I mean everyone who is involved from my assistant, secretary, our riders, yard staff, vet, farrier, physio, to my wife who puts up with me on a daily basis and thank you to my parents who put up with my crazy ideas as they support and guide me. I really could go on as people say it takes a village but I would say it takes a small country!